The stay on the single-judge’s verdict was issued Today (22 Feb) by a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora after the ED filed an appeal, in the Delhi High Court.
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The Delhi High Court, Today (22 Feb), issued a stay against a single-judge ruling which stated that if an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) exceeds 365 days without resulting in any prosecution complaint, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) must return the seized property.
A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora granted the stay after the ED lodged an appeal.
The Court specified that the stay would remain effective until March 11, the next hearing date.
In a judgment delivered on January 31, Justice Navin Chawla, the single judge, also interpreted the phrase
“pendency of the proceedings relating to any offence under this Act [PMLA] before a Court”
in Section 8(3) of the PMLA as applicable solely to a complaint pending before a PMLA court concerning the individual from whom the property was seized.
The single judge dismissed the ED’s argument that since Section 8(3) of the PMLA does not prescribe any consequence for surpassing 365 days, there can be no directive for returning the seized property.
He further ruled that extending such seizure beyond 365 days, in the absence of any pending proceedings related to any offence under the PMLA or the corresponding law of another country, would be without legal authority and hence violate Article 300A of the Indian Constitution.
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During the appeal on behalf of the ED, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju contended that the single judge’s decision had several flaws and sought a stay on the findings, fearing that the judgment might be cited as a precedent.
These contentions were opposed by Advocate DP Singh, representing respondent Mahender Kumar Khandelwal.
Following the arguments, the Division Bench issued the stay order.
CASE TITLE: Directorate of Enforcement & Anr v. Mahender Kumar Khandelwal.
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